Denny Hamlin won his third Daytona 500 on Monday (February 17th) and his second in a row, pulling out the victory in an overtime photo finish over Ryan Blaney in a race that had been delayed a day because of rain on Sunday.
But the celebratory mood was dimmed because of concern over Ryan Newman, who was taken to the hospital after a fiery final lap crash in which he flipped across the finish line, with NASCAR not holding the traditional victory lane party for Hamlin. Newman was later reported to be in “serious condition,” but doctors said his injuries were “not life threatening.”
